2010-11 GROSS EXPENDITURE ON RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT (GERD) STATISTICS

To date, gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) statistics have been released by the ABS on an biennial basis as part of the Research and Experimental Development, All Sector Summary, Australia (cat. no. 8112.0). These data have been compiled by aggregating the business, higher education, government and private non profit sector R&D estimates for an almost common reference period. Statistics for the latter three sectors have been collected biennially for an almost common reference period; with a financial year reference period for the government and private non profit sectors and a calendar year reference period for the higher education sector. Business sector R&D estimates were sourced from the annual collection.

There are two major changes impacting on the 2010-11 GERD statistics; these are:

Funding constraints led to the deferral of the 2010-11 Government and Private non profit collections. The result of this is that the figures for expenditure on Research and Experimental Development in 2010-11 by the Government and Private non profit sectors will be estimated. The 2010-11 GERD estimate will, as in the past, include directly collected data for the two largest contributing sectors to GERD, business and higher education. The method of estimating the 2010-11 Government and Private non profit components will be explained as part of the release. The level of detail for GERD will be at the summary level only.

THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND STANDARD RESEARCH CLASSIFICATION (ANZSRC)

The ANZSRC 2008 (cat. no. 1297.0) was released on 31st March 2008, replacing the previous Australian Standard Research Classification 1998. The ANZSRC was developed to meet the dual needs for a comprehensive description of today's research environment, as well as the ability to compare R&D statistics internationally.

At the time of its release in 2008, the ABS and Statistics New Zealand indicated an intention to undertake a minor revision of the classification every five years and a major revision every ten years. Although there is a small demand for some minor revisions, resource constraints in both the ABS and Statistics New Zealand have resulted in the minor review being deferred in the medium term. With a view of developing an achievable strategy for any ANZSRC review (both minor and major), further discussion will be held with key stakeholders during 2013.

This release presents key indicators on the incidence of use of information technology and innovation in Australian business. Detailed data (including some output cross-classified by business size and industry) are included in datacubes.

For further information about this release and related Business Characteristics statistics, please contact Andrew Puljic by email or on (08) 9360 5229.

INTERNET ACTIVITY SURVEY

This release contains details of internet activity supplied by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia with more than 1,000 active subscribers. It includes information on internet subscribers and their type of access connection, the type of user (i.e. business/household), the volume of data downloaded, the speed of internet connection and the location of the subscriber (by state or territory). The data are released as Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0).

The June 2012 survey is currently in the field, with data expected to be released 9 October 2012.

Venture capital and later stage equity is high risk capital directed towards businesses with prospects of rapid growth and/or high rates of returns. It is an investment not only of money, but also of skills and time. This publication presents information on both financial and non-financial contributions to venture capital and later stage equity investments. The ABS undertook the first survey of venture capital for the period 1999-2000 and has since undertaken this survey annually with financial support of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE).

The Australian Census of Population and Housing was conducted on 9 August 2011. This was Australia's sixteenth national Census, and marked the centenary of national Censuses in Australia. The objective of the Census is to measure accurately, the number of people and dwellings in Australia on Census night, and a range of their key characteristics. The Census provides information about the population's characteristics and its housing, within small geographic areas, to support planning, administration, policy development and evaluation activities in the public and private sectors.

With the development of technology, in particular the internet, and the growing sophistication of the user community, the ABS has recast its range of products and services for the 2011 Census. The following key strategies have been proposed, with the data for most being available for use from the 21 June 2012:

the Internet will be the main tool for dissemination of 2011 Census data with an expanded range of products and services;

place of usual residence as the basis for the dissemination of standard Census data;

implementation of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) for the 2011 Census;

timely release of data through a three-phase release strategy, increasing the number of first release data items while maintaining timeliness; and,

enhancing the value of the Census through the Census Data Enhancement project by improving and expanding the range of official statistics.

As well as the key releases produced by the ABS' Innovation and Technology Statistics Branch, the following products could also be of interest:

Year Book Australia (cat. no. 1301.0): provides a comprehensive overview of economic and social conditions of contemporary Australia. It is a statistically-oriented publication with sufficient background information to establish a context for the statistics and to assist in understanding and interpreting them. The 2011-12 version was released on the 24 May 2012, and contains a chapter on research and innovation, and information, communication and technology (ICT).

Competition, Innovation and Productivity in Australian Businesses (cat. no. 1351.0.55.035): This paper investigates two important relationships relating to firm behaviour and performance using econometric methods. First, the relationship between product market competition and innovation is examined, and then the association between innovation and productivity is separately investigated. Data from the ABS' Business Longitudinal Database (BLD) are used in the analysis. Cross sectional modelling is employed to investigate the association between competition and innovation, and further models exploring the link between innovation and productivity. The research reported in this paper was conducted jointly by staff from the ABS and the Productivity Commission.

Research Report 1/2011: An overview of productivity, business competitiveness and viability: This report provides an overview of existing research on productivity, business competitiveness and viability in Australia and examines measures of these at a national, industry and firm level, with a particular emphasis on award-reliant industries and firms. This paper is the work of Samantha Farmakis-Gamboni and Kelvin Yuen of the Minimum Wages and Research Branch, Fair Work Australia.

General Social Survey: Summary of Results, Australia 2010 (cat. no. 4159.0): Present results of the 2010 General Social Survey, which brings together a wide range of information to enable it to be linked across areas of social concern. The focus is on the relationships between characteristics from different areas, rather than in depth information about a particular field. Topics include health, housing, education, work income, financial stress and resilience, broad assets and liabilities, transport, social capital, voluntary work, family and community, and crime. Provides an overview through summary tables for different population groups and selected themes, including a chapter on information technology.

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